While you might debate over what exactly is the longer-term solution for reducing that smog, vehicles with internal-combustion engines are still contributing to problem. And it's one geographic case where plugging in makes a lot of sense.

Now, Los Angeles is getting a mayor who has a history of championing electric cars. Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti, who is just 42, was still in his 20s when he was one of the first to drive a General Motors EV1, as well as one of the last to give his up as the automaker reclaimed them from lease.

Garcetti appeared as an environmental policy crusader and EV1 owner in the 2006 documentary Who Killed The Electric Car? [View the video clip below, starting at the 2:25 mark, for then-councilman Garcetti's remarks at the GM EV1 funeral.]

The Los Angeles Times recently described the city's upcoming mayor (as of July 1, 2013) as “very smart, a little wonky, fairly young, kind of hip, someone at ease with power and fame but who likes to drop names.”

Garcetti, who was elected last week, hadn't shied from his revolutionary transportation aims pre-election. Replying to a prod from EV advocate Chelsea Sexton on May 15, he tweeted, “Let's make LA capital of zero-emission vehicles again—13 years driving a zero-emission vehicle and promoting an EV infrastrusture.”

The mayor-elect might be speaking of one other mayoral rivalry—that of several years ago, as San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and Portland mayor Sam Adams competed for "EV supremacy."

How helpful will it be to have a genuine, long-term electric-vehicle fan in the city hall of one of our largest cities? Let us know what you think in your comments below.